PRIME MINISTER of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, is recovering after being hit on the head with an object by a protester as he was walking through a group of protesters to get into Parliament. According to media reports, the white shirt of the Prime Minister ‘turned red’ as blood streaked down. He was immediately rushed to the hospital where he was treated and then flown to a Barbados hospital where he underwent several tests.

The Prime Minister was reportedly hit on the head with a stone by a protester who, along with others, was protesting some impending changes to the law to make it mandatory for frontline workers to be vaccinated against illnesses such as the COVID-19 disease that has now become a national emergency.

Fortunately, according to reports, the blow did not result in any neurological harm but he suffered a concussion along with experiencing headaches and bouts of dizziness.

The words emanating from Prime Minister Gonsalves after the attack was that of a true and genuine Statesman who, despite the harm inflicted on him, was not looking for revenge. Instead, he called on the law to take its course, especially given the fact that the action could have been potentially fatal.

The protest action was organised by unions representing nurses, police and other workers who feared that that the COVID-19 vaccines would be made mandatory. It is unfortunate that an action that was intended to promote the national good was misconstrued and manipulated by politicians from the opposite side of the political divide to generate fear in the population.

The Prime Minister could not have put it better when he said that ‘we can have our disagreements, but to cross the line into violence is unacceptable in a democratic world’. Indeed, Prime Minister, Dr. Gonsalves has himself garnered a reputation as a strong advocate for democracy and democratic rule not only in his country but in the wider Caribbean. His stance on the issue of free and fair elections in Guyana will forever be etched in the minds of the Guyanese people and for that matter the region as a whole.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves is no newcomer to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and for that matter Caribbean politics. He served as Chairman of the Caribbean Community and is the longest continuously serving Head of Government since the country became independent in 1979. He is also the Leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP). He became Prime Minister after his party won a majority in the 2001 general election. Under his leadership, the ULP continued to win a majority of the popular vote in every election from 1998 to 2020 when he was sworn in for his fifth term as Prime Minister.

Several regional personalities have condemned the attack on Prime Minister Gonsalves, including Sir Ronald Sanders, Ambassador of the Organisation of American States (OAS), who is quoted as saying that such a development in Caribbean politics is most reprehensible.

The attack on the Prime Minister is not simply an attack on him as an individual but an attack on free speech and, at a much broader level, an attack on democracy and free speech. This is most reprehensible. Indeed, there can be no place for such actions and behaviour in a modern and civilised world where people are singled out for attacks based on considerations of politics and race. As the saying goes, ‘words are winds, but blows are unkind’, more so when such blows are directed at political leaders of the stature of Dr. Gonsalves whose commitment to democracy and the rule of law is second to none in his country and the region as a whole.

The attack on Prime Minister, Dr. Gonsalves must be condemned by all those who cherish the ideals of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. The law should take its course and the perpetrator of the act and its intellectual authors should be condignly dealt with in accordance with the law. This should be done not only to serve as a deterrent for others who may be so inclined, but to also make the point that there is zero tolerance for violence in a democratic and law governed society.